


Relationship Advice

by DoctorpooandtheTURDIS



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Breakups, F/M, Shopping, and that mission is to add more Wileven, half the tag is mostly just smut and not actual relationship, i am a man on a mission, so i pulled a Thanos and said 'fine i'll do it myself', starts off pretty platonic, then goes up from there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:41:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27829909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorpooandtheTURDIS/pseuds/DoctorpooandtheTURDIS
Summary: One misty day in Hawkins, El chose to go to Will of all people for help understanding something she really didn't. He helped her get on her way, but this subtly changed things until, that day in July, instead of seeking Max out for help in dealing with Mike, she went to Will instead.Will.As in, the one who has ZERO girlfriend/boyfriend experience.God help him.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler (past), Will Byers/Eleven | Jane Hopper
Comments: 49
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

There were very few in the party who were especially close to Eleven, even after she made her grand return in Halloween of ’84. That honor went to Max and Mike. Mike because he was, apparently, her boyfriend, and Max, the only female friend El could get. Not even Dustin and Lucas, who’d been around her during that original week in ’83, were as good friends with her. That’s not to say they weren’t friends at all.

Will, however, didn’t have the first iota of interaction with her. She made contact with him while he was stuck in the Upside Down, and he knew, through the others mainly, that she knew the situation he was in while he was possessed, and spent a scant few seconds inscrutably staring at him while he was out of order.

It wasn’t something he was purposefully fostering either. Every time he got around her, no matter where she was or who she was with, he flashed back to… there. His skin went clammy, his stomach sank, he felt like he had something in his throat that nothing could get out.

So, he avoided her. If El was the cause of this new series of flashbacks, he was going to give her as wide a berth as possible. He did _not_ fancy getting new waves of anxiety attacks, thank you very much.

Thus, he stayed away from her. Far away.

Of course, there came points where El chose to seek him out, however.

\------------

It had been a rainy, foggy day, that made it look like the Mist had jumped from the pages of the book into the real world. The perfect shroud for El to make her trek across Hawkins.

Will was, to be expected, hopelessly confused. His mother was out, and so was Jonathan. It was certain El had deeper bonds with them than him. But, no, El soon explained that she was seeking _Will_.

Will frowned, pointing to himself, as he fought back the memory intruding into his own mind. “Me?” He incredulously repeated. “What for?”

“They say you are Mike’s… best friend.” El repeated uncertainly, the words foreign to her still. “Thought _you_ could help.”

“W-Well, I mean…” Will bashfully stammered. “I’ve known Mike the longest out of all of us, yeah. But… why do you need my help?”

“He is acting… weird.” El bit her lip, crossing her arms in recollection. “He visits and sees me. But then he sees me watching the TV and gets…”

“Agitated?”

“Agit-ated?” El repeated tilting her head.

Will thinned his lips. “Not… angry, but like annoyed. In a bad mood.”

El kept quiet momentarily, thinking about it, before nodding. “Yes.”

Will frowned. “Why would he get agitated when you were watching the TV?”

El shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s why I ask you.”

“Hm…” Will rubbed his jaw in thought. “When he gets agitated, what do you usually do? I mean that sets him off?”

“He starts when…” El blinked, thinking. “I notice someone on the screen.”

“Someone?” Will repeated. “A single someone or lots of someones?”

“Lots.”

Will nodded. “Like who?”

“Michael J. Fox, Judd Nelson, Christian Slater-“

Will held up a hand to stop her. “Yep, I get the picture.” He didn’t need to hear any more than that, really. Mike definitely was one to get jealous, especially after El had been gone for so long. “So… what do you need my help with?”

“How do I make him stop?”

Will frowned in thought for a few moments more. “Well, truthfully speaking… next time he gets all in a jealous tizzy because you see someone handsome on the screen… Tell him… Hm…” He rubbed his chin. “That if he’s worried about competition from someone who won’t ever meet you, and doesn’t even know you exist, he should probably straighten out his priorities.”

“I… see.” El frowned. “He’s worried about… com-pet-it-ion? What for?”

“Well, you’re his girlfriend now.” Will gestured. “And Mike is… well… he’s pretty possessive when it comes to anything really. He means well, though.”

“Oh… okay.” El blinked. “Thank you, Will.” She smiled, standing up, before pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek, turning to leave.

\------------

Time went on, but that wasn’t the only time El went to Will for help. He wondered why she kept going to him, but as she later explained, it was because Dustin was always joking, even when he should be serious, and Lucas was more likely to pick the outcome to benefit only Mike.

Not that Will had _any_ relationship experience whatsoever, but he had a different use.

Will was impartial. A neutral party. One who could take a look and see just who was at fault and make the decision. So, reluctantly, he helped.

There was one time El had come over, talking about how Mike was getting… intimate.

“Don’t let _anyone_ pressure you into _anything._ ” Will had wisely said. “If it’s something you don’t want to do, make it clear. He’s gonna get pissy, but that’s his problem. And if he tries to force you into anything, you come running here, got it?”

El tilted her head in confusion. “Why would he?”

Well, Mike _wouldn’t,_ at least, not consciously.

“He probably won’t.” Will admitted. “But I just wanted to throw that out there. In case, you know, you needed it.”

There’s still a lot El doesn’t understand about the outside world. It’s fair to say that, even with Hopper taking care of her, what she learned was just a drop in a glass of water. But, Will thinks to himself, he wants El to know she can _always_ come to his house for not just his help, but the help of the rest of his family.

\-------------

“I don’t know what to do.” El paced back and forth in the living room. It was summer of ’85 now, and you could probably see where this is going. “Mike _lied_. To my face. Well, not my face. I was on the phone.”

“Yeah.” Will sat on the couch. “You’ve already explained that much. Tell me what happened again.” He’d _wanted_ to stay over at Mike’s and try to get the others to start up a D&D session, but El had, somehow, snuck a message through to Mike’s mom.

The girl was crafty. Especially when she didn’t want to be noticed.

“He left last night in a rush. Something about his nana.” El recalled. “Said we’d hang out again today. He didn’t show. Said his nana was really sick. But his mom didn’t know.”

“Oof,” Will flinched, “Yeah, Karen’s always listening in… Never mind,” He held his hands up in surrender at El’s look, “Not what we’re here for. Well… Mike lied.”

“He did.” El got confirmation for what he already knew. “But _why?”_

Will tried to think of something to say to let her off gently. “Maybe he just… didn’t wanna spend time with you today?”

“Okay.” El granted. “But why _lie_? Friends don’t lie he says…”

“El,” Will smiled sadly, “Welcome to the world of double-standards. That rule only applies if it’s little things, and it doesn’t apply at all if you’re Mike Wheeler.”

“But…” El looked hurt. “Why?”

“It’s human.” Will answered. “A defensive mechanism. We lie to other people because, way back when we all lived in mud huts in the ground, lying could be the only way to made sure you got enough to eat. Or to protect what you had from others. You’ve probably lied tons of times too.”

El didn’t look pleased admitting it, but she crossed her arms, flannel shirt wrinkling, and nodded. “Back in the lab. I had to. They wouldn’t punish me sometimes. But… I try not to now. Because Mike told me _friends don’t lie._ ”

“Like I said, it’s only human.” Will replied. “But you know what I do think.” He stood up. “It’s not fair that Mike told you that without letting you in on the nuance and expected you to follow it when the rest of us don’t. Even _I_ don’t follow it, and I was the one who came up with that rule in the first place.”

El slowly nodded in reluctant comprehension. “So… what do I do?”

“You,” Will began, gently guiding her by the shoulder. “Are gonna let Mike stir in his own fuckup until he realizes what he’s done. He’s the one who committed the act, he has to be the one to apologize, that’s what I was always taught.”

“And if he doesn’t?” El contemplated, as Will went for a piggybank hidden under his bed.

“Well, um…” Will frowned in thought for a moment. “You _could_ dump him, but that’s a bit extreme.”

“Dump?”

“You know, throw him out, put him in the doghouse…” Will sighed, catching her blank look. “Tell him you don’t want to be his girlfriend anymore.” El blinked. “But, like I said, that’s a bit extreme!” Will amended, holding up his hands. “You could probably just give him the silent treatment until he apologizes. That’d be good.”

“Okay.” El nodded. “What do I do until then?”

“I’ve got about three-hundred dollars I’ve been saving up for the past year and a half.” Will said, taking the roll of cash out of the piggybank. “It’s actually pretty easy, just a dollar here and there, but-“ He shook himself out of it. “I’ve been saving up for a rainy day, but do you know what? I think you could use a day out. Hopper’s and here are really the only two places you visit. How about we go somewhere new?”

“Somewhere… new?” El repeated, and Will got an infectious smile on his face.

\-----------

El paled, stepping off the bus, looking at the crowd walking around, to the mall entrance.

Will looked over to her with a worried expression plastered on his features. “Hey?” He murmured to her as to not be heard by the crowd. “You okay?”

El gulped. “Too many people. Against the rules.”

“El,” Will placed a steadying hand on her shoulder, “We don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to. But I would really like you to at least try it. It’s a bit like eating a new food. You never know.”

El looked to the entrance for a few seconds, before a mischievous smile overtook her face, and she nodded, grabbing Will’s hand as she took the lead into the mall.

\-----------

The two stood on the upper level, looking down below, as an upbeat synth tune played over the loudspeakers keeping the assorted shoppers happy while they burned their money away.

El looked around at the massive atrium at the heart of the mall in awe. “It’s so… big in here.”

Will chuckled. “Yep. It’s like all the shops in downtown crammed into one building. So, what do you wanna do first?”

El’s head snapped over to Will, and she pointed at herself. “Me?”

“Well, you’ve never been shopping.” Will bet, gesturing around. “I’ve got three-hundred dollars and we’ve got the whole mall to explore. But I think we should probably start with…” He looked over, to the red storefront. “The Gap.” He turned to her with a smile. “Sound good?”

El nodded enthusiastically and broke out into a sprint, Will struggling to keep up.

\-----------

El looked through the racks of clothes with an almost frantic curiosity, like if she didn’t take all it in fast enough, it would disappear forever.

“So, whatever you like,” Will outlined before he pointed to himself. “I’ve got it covered. Don’t worry about it.”

El looked to Will with a searching expression. “How do I know… what I like?”

“It’ll just… feel _right_.” Will responded.

“Right…” El repeated.

“You’ll look at yourself in the mirror, and you’ll have a hard time coming to terms with taking it off.” Will simplified, patting her on the back. “Now, go for it, I guess.”

El looked to the rack, and smiled again.

Will paled, eating his words. He didn’t want to buy the whole store.

\-----------

“Suspenders, now there’s a thought.” Will commented, as El hopped in front of the mirror, wearing baggy yellow pants held up by black and red striped suspenders over a blue shirt. “I should get suspenders. They’d be comfier than belts, I think.”

“Way comfier.” El agreed, as something caught her eye over across the way. “…That’s a big belt.”

So big that, when she tried to spin around to see how it looked on her back, El spun herself out, giggling like a maniac.

\---------

“What about…” El stepped out, wearing a black top and skirt with colorful patterns on it. “This?”

Will grinned. “Love it, love it, love it! Here, let’s go pay.”

El smiled as well, jittering behind Will as he went to the counter.

The cashier rang him up, handing Will back his change. “I just want to say,” The woman gushed, “You and your girlfriend are the cutest I’ve ever seen.”

Will’s face flushed pink, grateful that El was focused on something else. “Oh, n-no, no, no we’re not a couple.”

The woman gasped apologetically. “Oh, brother and sister, I’m so sorry! Yes, you look very much alike!”

Will looked to El, a confused frown on his face.

“Really?”

\-----------

“Will, look!” El pointed as they strode through the halls of the mall.

“Men’s Wearhouse?” He read off, paling as he realized _why_ she pointed it out. “Oh, no, you are _not_ getting me in there!”

\---------

Will sighed, placing the cash down on the counter. He’d changed out of his regular clothes, into a charcoal pair of pants held up by navy blue suspenders over a baby blue shirt.

The man behind the counter chuckled sympathetically. “First time shopping with the missus?”

Will glowered. “Just give me my receipt, please.”

\-------------

El gasped in shock, staring at the television, as a hairdresser worked on her hair. “Will, look!”

Will looked down from his magazine, trying not to move so the woman working on his hair wouldn’t mess up. “What?”

“Somebody shot JR!”

Will glanced over to her, a bit of hair falling through his vision, as he tried not to move his head. “You haven’t seen this one?”

“No!” El quickly replied. “Who did it!? Was it Sue Ellen!? Bobby!? Pamela!?”

“Now, why would I tell you that when you can find out for yourself later?” Will quite mischievously replied, going back to his reading materials.

El huffed, crossing her arms. “Meanie.”

\------------

With Will’s hair trimmed back to get rid of that hideous bowl cut, and El’s shampooed and conditioned to shininess, the two made their way to Scoops Ahoy.

Steve frowned as he handed the strawberry cone to El, and the chocolate to Will.

“Thanks.” The two offered in unison.

“Wait a second.” Steve looked to El with furrowed eyebrows. “Are you even allowed to be here?”

“Steve,” Will began, as El tried to hold back giggles. “You forget a thousand things a day, man. Just make sure this is one of them.”

“…that didn’t sound vaguely threatening at all.” Steve muttered as the two turned to leave. “Love the suspenders… Nerd!”

“You think this is nerdy!?” Will threw over his shoulder as they departed. “She tried to get me into a polka-dot bow tie!”

\-----------

The doors clanged as El and Will marched through, laughing to themselves.

“See?” Will smiled at her. “Fun.”

“That’s ridiculous!” A voice to their right echoed.

“Uh oh…” Will gulped. “Hey, you wanna go back inside and watch a movie? We still have money, how about we get some actual food?”

Mike turned to look at them, freezing, before he dropped his bike.

“Oh… shit.” Will cursed.

“What…” Mike gaped, pointing to El. “What are you doing here?”

El’s gaze got steely. Oh, she was _really_ pissed off about the lying thing. “Shopping.”

“Will…” Lucas looked to him. “What are you _wearing_?”

Will snapped the belts of his suspenders. “I happen to think it’s a good look for me. It’s… casual formalwear.” He spun around. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re insane!” Mike leveled, pointing at him. “You _know_ she’s not supposed to be out! And what is she doing with _you!?”_

Will crossed his arms defensively, putting his weight on one leg. “I’ll have you know that I am just doing my duty as a good friend and helping her through this trying time… Besides, would you rather have her with _Max_?”

Lucas gasped. “What’s _that_ supposed to mean!?”

El seethed, grip tightening on her cone. “You _lied_ to me.”

“W-What!?” Mike stammered.

“You said nana was sick.”

“She is!” Mike insisted, and Will had to keep his hand from smacking his forehead.

Mike had just broken the first rule of lying. Don’t get caught in another trying to get out of the first.

“She is!” Mike repeated, looking to Lucas for help. “She is sick!”

“Y-Yeah,” Lucas agreed. “Super sick!”

 _‘God, I am so evil for doing this, but I can’t resist.’_ “What with?” Will innocently asked.

Mike and Lucas spluttered.

“Um-“

“Uh…” Mike stumbled. “Spanish Flu.”

“Oh.” Will nodded. “Funny… I thought that was over in 1918. How’s your nana doing?”

“Well, that’s why we’re here, actually.” Mike expertly maneuvered out of it. “We’re shopping, not for us, but for nana! And, for, well… for you.” He directed to El. “But it’s difficult, cause I only have three dollars and fifty cents.”

“Will has three hundred.” El tilted her head, and Will recoiled.

“Don’t-“ Will coughed. “Don’t tell _them_ that! They’re gonna want me to be buying shit for them too now!” Brakes hissed and squealed behind them, and Will turned to the bus. “There’s our ride.”

“El…” Mike looked to her. “I’m telling you-“

El’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lying… and you _keep_ lying!” She clenched her teeth, taking two steps forward.

Mike, for a moment, looked hopeful.

“I dump your ass!” El hissed, shoving the ice cream end of the cone into Mike’s shirt, spinning around. “Let’s go, Will.”

Will looked to the two, Mike with the betrayed look, and took off after El, as she stepped into the bus.

\-----------------

“That was cold, El.” Will looked out. “So, so, cold.”

El crossed her arms. “Don’t care if it was mean.”

“No, I didn’t mean cold as in mean, I meant _literally_ cold.” Will corrected, pointing out the window. “Mike’s shivering.”

“Oh…” El winced, looking to the cone on the ground as the bus pulled away. “Sorry about the ice cream. It was a waste.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Will waved it away. “I still have like one-fifty left.” He looked to her. “There’s an Italian place downtown. You wanna go get something to eat?”

El contemplated for a moment, before smiling and nodding. “Sure.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder, and Will looked ahead, trying to calm the butterflies rampant in his stomach.


	2. Chapter 2

“This place is…” El self-consciously looked around. “Fancy.” She commented, looking at the people playing classical music. “Really fancy.”

Will looked up from the menu, to El, gasping like a fish. “We could go somewhere else-“

“No, no, I thought it’d be expensive.” El replied.

Will waved it away with his hand. “Don’t worry about it. It’s fancy, but even if we ordered the most expensive stuff on here, it wouldn’t be too much for what I have left.”

“Right, okay…” El nodded, looking through the menu. “…Why do you have so much money?” She asked.

Will glanced back up. “Mom taught me to put away every spare bit I had. A necessity thing, really.” He explained, as the waiter brought them their drinks. Nothing too fancy like wine or the sort (they _were_ just teenagers after all, even if Will had some money), just Cokes. “I’ll have the chicken parmesan, extra sauce please.”

“Certainly, sir.” The man scribbled it down. “And for the lady?”

“Oh, um…” El uncertainly stammered, looking over the menu. “A pepperoni calzone please?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The waiter took note. “Anything else.”

“Oh, could we get some garlic bread?” Will requested. “And that’ll be it.”

The waiter nodded politely. “I’ll have your bread brought out to you shortly, sir.” HE said, before walking off.

“Oh…” El sheepishly groaned, rubbing her face. “I looked clueless, didn’t I?”

“Not at all.” Will chuckled. “At least you ordered something you could actually _pronounce._ Bob brought us all here one time and I thought gnocchi was pronounced ganookie.”

El laughed, before her smile slowly dropped.

“Something on your mind?” Will inquired.

“Mike.” El admitted. “He lied to me again… And you said something earlier. ‘The rules don’t apply if you’re Mike Wheeler.’” She tilted her head inquisitively. “What did you mean by that?”

Will sighed, running a hand through his now-short hair. That was going to take some getting used to. “Look, I love Mike. Really, I do. I’ve known him since kindergarten, he’s the brother my own age I wished I always had… but sometimes he tends to think about himself first and the rest of us last.”

El furrowed her eyebrow. “That’s… not true?”

“Do you think he has any idea where Dustin is right now?” Will asked in response. “He’s been off the scope for days at this point.”

“Do _you_ know where Dustin is?” El asked in response.

“Sure.” Will shrugged. “In the back room of Scoops helping translate… something.”

“Scoops?” El repeated.

“I saw him through the counter window when we were getting our ice cream.” Will explained. “Mike, though, probably has no idea, and if he did he probably doesn’t care enough to help.”

“Well…” El inquired. “Why don’t _you_ help Dustin?”

Will shrugged. “You came to me this morning asking for my help first. First come, first served.”

“Right…” El crossed her arms on the table, leaning forward. “What’s your problem with Mike?”

“I don’t have problems with Mike.” Will answered. “It’s just… everybody needs someone to take them down just a couple of notches when they have their heads up their asses. That’s also part of being a friend. Being honest to someone about them being stupid when they need to hear it. I trust the others to do the same for me.”

“But…” El frowned in confusion. “Isn’t that hurtful?”

“Sometimes.” Will conceded. “But sometimes, to make people listen, you have to get just a little bit rude. Like… I’m a pretty nice person most of the time, but if the others are doing something really, _really_ stupid, I have to get mean. Because I’m never mean, it lets them know that something’s really serious.”

“Get mean to make them listen…” El repeated with a nod, causing Will to shake his head.

“It all depends on the context.” Will explained. “I use it as a last resort. If you go around getting angry all the time, people just start thinking you’re a dick.” A pleasant aroma tickled his nose, and he turned to the source, as the waiter brought the garlic bread to them.

“The rest will be out shortly.”

“Thanks…” Will directed, licking his lips as he looked at the bread. 

El looked to the bread, then Will, blinking.

That wasn’t mere hunger Will was looking at that poor, vulnerable bread with.

It was pure, uncontrollable, _lust_.

What was so special about garlic bread?

\------------

As it turns out, El thinks she may have discovered perfection incarnate upon taking some of that garlic bread.

“Friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend…” Will commented, looking the food over. “Only garlic bread has no end.”

El laughed, covering her mouth so the food couldn’t be seen. She swallowed, still smiling. “Did you make that up?”

“Uh, no.” Will bashfully admitted. “I heard that one from Dustin. See, he-“ He was about to launch into the explanation, before El looked across the way, paling. “What is it?”

“Hopper…” El breathed. “I’m not supposed to be out!”

Will pivoted in his seat, turning to look. “Wonder what he’s doing here… dinner date?”

“I don’t know!” El quietly hissed. “But he’s going to see me!”

“Relax.” Will gently took her hand. “Swap seats with me, quick.” He recommended.

“Huh?”

“Hopper’s still looking at the menu, and since he’s not coming over here to rip _both_ of us a new one, he hasn’t seen you.” Will explained, getting up to allow her around. “There. He _might_ recognize me, but he’ll assume I’m on a date of my own and leave me alone.”

“And me?” El inquired.

“You got a makeover at the mall.” Will responded. “You’re not wearing the clothes you normally do and your hair’s different. He shouldn’t be able to recognize you unless he’s going outside and turns around for no good reason.”

“Right, okay…” El breathily nodded, sounding quite alarmed.

“Hey,” Will gently took her hand, “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. Just act calm and cool as a cucumber. Pretend like he isn’t even there.”

“Not there…” El repeated with a calm breath. “Got it.”

\------------

After Will and El had gotten their food, Will kept an eye on Hopper, just in case the man has getting close to finding them out. Something became quickly apparent over the course of the next hour or two, however.

Hopper’s date had apparently stood him up. And he was _not_ taking it well. The man was very quickly getting drunk, and Will was worried, because he’d seen people get drunk and lose _all_ inhibitions. If Hopper made a scene, well…

Actually, Will couldn’t contemplate what could go wrong for _them_ , but it didn’t stop his worries. As he got near the end of his dinner, he noticed Hopper getting up in a drunken stumble.

“Uh oh…” Will muttered.

El looked up from her food, a string of cheese being slurped up into her mouth, paling. “What?”

“He’s getting up.”

“He’s going to see me…” El breathed. “What do we do!?”

Will watched as Hopper began stumbling. He nervously bit his lip. He had a plan, but… “Do you trust me?”

El nodded quickly.

“Okay.” Will took a deep breath. “Alright then.” He closed his eyes and leaned across the table, capturing El’s lips in his own, and angling so the back of El’s head would be turned towards Hopper.

Hopper derisively snorted. “Good luck with that.” He commented as he passed. “Enjoy it before it all goes sour, kid.”

Will watched as Hopper left the building, and he pulled back from El, breathing heavily, as he watched the Police Chief drive into the distance. “Okay… we’re good… I think we’re good.” He wiped his mouth, turning back to El.

Will looked at her face, and blinked, as she looked frozen in shock, jaw dropped.

“Oh, shit.” Will cursed. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I-“

“I-It’s okay.” El stammered. “He didn’t see me?”

“If he did, I’m positive he would’ve said something.”

The girl smiled. “Then thank you.”

Will smiled in response and took a moment to find his next words. “Right, we should probably get the check and head back.”

El nodded in response, but something caught her sense of smell, and she sniffed. Chocolate pie…

“Mmm…” She mumbled. “Can we stay for dessert?”

Will bit his lip but nodded.

This girl was going to bankrupt him.

\---------

“You sure Hopper’s cool with you staying here?” Will asked, changing into some way more comfortable clothes out of El’s sight.

“I left a note this morning.” She explained, as Will stepped out. “I don’t think he really cares if there’s not too many people and it’s not Mike.”

Oh, that reminded Will of something. “Which reminds me,” Will pointed. “No matter what, _don’t_ tell him you were hanging out with me and we had dinner together.”

El tilted her head, frowning. “Why not?”

“Let’s just say it’s not _only_ Mike that Hopper’s opposed to.” Will knowingly replied. If Hopper found out he and El had been on what basically amounted to a date, even without any of the actual romantic stuff, he’d throw a fit. “But whatever. He can deal with it.”

El slowly nodded but looked down.

“Hey?” Will leaned in, concerned. “What’s up?”

El thinned her lips. “I feel… bad.”

“What for?”

“Making you spend your money.”

Will snorted, waving her concerns away. “It’s not like you _made_ me spend my money. Besides, you needed a day out. Being cooped up in one house all the time would drive _me_ insane, and I’m a bit of a recluse.”

El looked only just a little bit comforted by that statement.

“Trust me.” Will replied. “It’s not a waste if it was a good time.” He stated. That was his motto when it came to spending money at least. It’d take a while to save back up to a point where he could do something like that again, though. “I don’t mind, really… Hey, what do you say we do something fun?”

“Fun?” El repeated.

“Yeah…” Will rubbed his chin. “Do your powers have a limited range?”

El shook her head, and smiled mischievously, getting at what he was proposing.


	3. Chapter 3

“I’ve always wanted to do something like this.” Will excitedly muttered, grabbing construction paper, a marker, and an empty glass bottle.

“Really?” El asked, as Will set everything up.

“Yeah!” The boy confessed, nodding enthusiastically. “Everybody acts a different way around other people. I’ve always wanted to see what they’re really like when nobody’s around.” He set the radio to static, and turned to El, handing her a blindfold. “Right okay… this won’t hurt you or anything, will it?”

“No.” The girl denied, tying the blindfold around her head.

“Cause I mean, I heard from Mike when you use your powers you get like nosebleeds and-“

“It’s like a muscle.” El cut him off. “If I use it too much, I pull it. But if I never use it then it gets weak. This is good. Like a workout.”

“Right, okay…” Will nodded. “You know more about your powers than the rest of us normals, got it.”

“Will.” El stated. “Quiet.”

“Right, going quiet.” Will nodded, before spinning the bottle. It stopped on one name, and he had to consider for a moment that some higher power was railroading them because luck like that just did not exist. “Mike.”

El steadied her breathing, as a low vibration rumble spread throughout the room, just gentle enough that Will could barely detect it. Moments later, the radio distorted, and he could hear echoey voices coming from the speakers.

 _“What’s wrong with me!?”_ Mike moaned. _“What did I do wrong?”_

“Oh, God…” Will recognized that tone of voice.

 _“Nothing.”_ Lucas replied.

Will huffed, crossing his arms. “Suck-up.”

 _“What did I do wrong!? What could I have done wrong!?”_ Mike repeated.

“I see them.” El stated.

Will rubbed his face. “What’re they doing?”

“Eating.”

 _“I just…”_ Mike continued through a mouthful of chips. _“Don’t understand what I did to deserve this.”_

 _“Nothing!”_ Lucas repeated. _“Nothing, that’s my whole point! You’re the victim here!”_

Will shook his head. “Aw, come on, Lucas.”

“Is he… the victim?” El asked.

“Nope.” Will shot back. “He lied, not you. Don’t let him gaslight you into thinking you’re in the wrong.” That was one thing Will could say he learned from his dad. Lonnie would always fly into fits of inarticulate rage and then try to play the victim card afterward. A common tactic was accusing Joyce of being a bitch and getting in a mood first when Lonnie had just gotten drunk and argumentative like he always did.

Mike was Will’s best friend, but he would _not_ stand for him doing the same thing to El. Getting himself into his own mess and then acting like El was in the wrong and she had to apologize to him.

 _“And then there was Will!”_ Mike angrily threw out. _“Did you see him with her!? You know what, I bet this is his fault! He’s trying to make moves on El so he got her to break up with me so she’d go to him!”_

Will scowled, seeing red.

 _“Exactly.”_ Lucas agreed. _“And who knows what he said to her to make it happen.”_

_“He’s manipulating her!”_

“Will…” El spoke up. “You’re not manipulating me, are you?”

“No!” Will immediately insisted. “Nope, nope! You’re a free spirit! Everything you’ve done today has been totally your own choice free of outside influence!”

 _“He probably knew we were gonna go to the mall!”_ Mike continued. _“He overheard us talking about it before he left! The perfect setup!”_

Will scowled.

_“He’s gonna ruin everything! Why, what did I do to deserve this!?”_

_“Mike, stop.”_ Lucas cut in, and for a moment, Will thought that his brain might’ve been working for the both of them. _“Okay, just relax… you need to stop thinking in rational terms.”_

 _“I know, I know.”_ Mike sighed. _“You’re right. Because women act more on emotion and not logic.”_

“Oh… shit…” Will paled. Not like the two could’ve known they were being spied on, but Mike had just started digging himself into an even deeper hole.

“ _Precisely.”_ Lucas agreed. _“It’s a totally different species.”_

“Species…” El repeated with a bad taste in her mouth.

A belch echoed through the radio, originating from Mike.

“Oh, disgusting…” Will rubbed his face in frustration. “Yep, I know where this is going.” He reached over to the radio, shutting it off.

El ripped her blindfold off, looking at Will petulantly. “Hey!”

“Trust me, you do _not_ want to be around to see that.” Will told her seriously.

The door opened, and the two’s heads snapped over, as Joyce came in from outside.

The woman looked to El, looking surprised. “Oh, El. Hey. What are you doing here?”

“I… had a day out.” El answered. “Will took me.”

“Oh.” Joyce smiled. “How sweet.” She looked to Will. “Nice haircut. Where’d you get it?”

“The mall…” Will answered, self-consciously patting his hair.

“You went to the _mall_ …” Joyce commented, nodding. “Did you two get anything for dinner?” She inquired.

“Yep.” El answered for both. “We went to… Ez… Enzo’s.”

“Enzo’s…” Joyce inhaled, gasping. “Hopper!” She flew into a rush, running back to her bedroom.

Will blinked blankly. “O-kay… Nice talking to you too.”

\-----------

El spun the bottle, waiting for it to land on the next target. “Mister Wheeler…”

“Bor-ing.” Will replied. “I dunno if you’ve met him, but half the time, all the guy does is sleep.”

El laughed quietly in a knowing manner. “Yes… boring.” She looked to the board, spinning it again.

“Billy.” Both echoed at once.

“Okay…” Will slowly passed her the blindfold. “I should warn you, I don’t know a lot about Billy, but from what I’ve heared, he’s a bit of a… horndog.”

El stifled snorting laughter. “A _what_?”

“You know, a skirt chaser. A ladykiller.” At El’s blank look, Will sighed. “A total fucking manwhore.”

El blinked.

“Let’s just say… if you hear him or a girl making… weird noises,” Will led with that, “It’s probably a good idea to beat feet outta there.”

“Beat-“

“Run like hell.” Will outlined, tuning the radio.

El nodded, tugging her clothes, before tying the blindfold again, going calm and steady.

It was odd, watching from the outside when she did this. Then again, Will imagined it would be much more odd if he could join her in the spying. For a normal human like him, whose brain just didn’t have a frame of reference for it, it could either be something truly alien and incomprehensible to him, or really boring.

El’s face twitched in confusion. “I found him.”

“What is it?” Will quietly inquired, dabbing at her bloody nose with a baby wipe. “What’s he doing?”

“I don’t know…” El muttered, brow knitting together. “He’s… on the floor… talking to someone.” Her breathing sped up and she ripped off her blindfold, shaking like she was at the heart of an earthquake.

“El!” Will placed two steading hands on her shoulders. “What’s wrong!? What happened!?”

El looked to Will, terrified out of her mind.

\------------

“He… he _saw_ me.” El shakily muttered. “I don’t know how… but he _saw_ me.”

“He saw you?” Will repeated. “Is that… possible?”

El swallowed, pulling her legs close to her chest as she nodded. “He looked right at me…”

“Is it possible he was just… looking at something else?” Will considered.

El shook her head. “He was looking at _me_.” She insisted. “I know it. He looked right in my eyes.”

“Right yeah…” Will mumbled. “That’s not concerning at all… but, other people have had to have seen you before, right?”

“Kind of…” El made an iffy motion with her hand. “Mike _sensed_ me, but he didn’t look right at me. Not like Billy.”

“Hmm…” Will bit his lip, sufficiently intrigued. “Maybe… it does sound pretty weird. Tomorrow, you wanna go out and investigate, if it would make you feel better?”

“Investigate…” El repeated, considering, before nodding. “Yes. We can investigate.”

“Alright.” Will went to the closet, pulling out some spare blankets and a pillow. “Here.” He offered to her.

“Thank you.” El murmured. “Will?”

“Yes?”

“Can you…” She gulped. “Sleep in here tonight?”

Will looked at her, tilting his head. “Billy seeing you really messed you up, didn’t it?”

El said nothing but nodded.

“Then sure.” Will grabbed his blanket and pillow and set up on the loveseat.

El laid down on the couch, pulling the blanket over her, before the lights seemingly cut off by themselves.

“Will?”

“Yeah?” He whispered back in response, head just a foot or two away on the loveseat.

“Thank you.” She said. “For today.”

“You’re very welcome.” Will replied. As he closed his eyes and drifted off, he tried not to focus on the events of that day. It was just him trying to help her out, not a date.

If it was a date, he’d fool himself into thinking he might have a chance with her. He didn’t have a chance with her, not when she would surely go back to Mike after he apologized.

For now, all Will could do was keep her spirits light. That was all.


	4. Chapter 4

Thunder rumbled far in the distance as Will, back in his new clothes, walked alongside El down Cherry street, stirring in his thoughts.

“Gonna start raining here pretty soon…” Will commented, looking up at the grey sky. “Glad I brought an umbrella… Maybe we should get back inside.”

El looked to Will, a slightly hurt look on her face. “You don’t believe me?”

“I believe you, yeah, but I mean…” Will paced at her side. “When a boy and a girl get together, stuff happens… you know… it’s perfectly normal what you heard.”

“She was _screaming._ ” El repeated.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but when a boy alone with a girl, sometimes he can make her scream… happy screams.” Will cringed at his amateur explanation.

“Happy screams?” El repeated incredulously. “Are _you_ going to make me happy scream?”

Will paled, making a crossing motion with his hands. “No! No, not, nope, definitely not! Look, let’s just… please stop talking about this because I might just have a heart attack.” The two came to a stop in front of the Hargroves’ house. “Anybody inside?”

El closed her eyes and shook her head after a moment.

Nobody home, that meant nobody to stop them.

\----------

Getting into the house was ludicrously easy. Most places couldn’t develop safeguards against El’s powers, even if they tried.

Will, admittedly, was squeamish about breaking an entering. But as long as they didn’t touch anything important, take anything, and got out before any one of the family could get home, it should’ve been safe.

Billy’s room was, expectedly, normal douchebag teen fare. Nothing too weird there, then again, it wasn’t like Will knew Billy well enough to tell if something was out of place.

El took the lead into the bathroom, turning on the lights, as she stood over the tub.

Still slightly cold water was held in the tub, empty plastic ice bags floating at the top.

Will looked at the scene, and he gulped.

“He likes it cold…” He mumbled in shock, and El turned to him with a dropped jaw. “No… no way…”

El, with shuddering breaths, turned to the sink, looking to the cabinet with a small blood splatter on it. She opened it up, and pulled out a lifeguard bag, a name embroidered on the strap.

“’Heather…’” El read.

“Heather? As in, the lifeguard Heather?” Will recognized. “This…” He shakily began. “This is bad.”

“You think… he is…” El began.

“I dunno…” Will admitted. “But either way… I think he attacked Heather. She could be in trouble.”

“…we have to find her.” El resolved.

“Alright.” Will nodded. “I’m coming with you.” He glanced back into the house. “Quick, let’s get outta here before someone finds out we’re here.”

\------------

Will walked, holding the umbrella up to shield himself and El as they walked. Crossing the town on foot, while possible, wasn’t _ideal,_ and he found himself wishing that he’d just ridden his bike.

“…I like the rain.” El suddenly commented, as she and Will crossed the street.

“Huh?”

“The rain.” El repeated. “It feels… nice.” She closed her eyes, guiding herself via Will, just taking in the sensation of the water hitting her skin.

For a moment, he contemplated laughing and calling her weird. But it made sense. Locked inside the lab for over a decade, the rain had been something she’d never been able to truly experience.

Will looked at El. “There’s a lot about the outside you haven’t experienced, have you?”

El smiled bashfully, shaking her head.

“Well, maybe after we get done with this, we can do some of it.” Will suggested. “You know, together.”

“Yes… together.” El happily smiled.

Will smiled back in response. He’d never really got the chance to get to know her before, but he found out a good bit (he thinks) about El over the course of the last two days. She was, at heart, a really light-hearted person. She could kill people with the blink of her eye, yes, and the circumstances of her upbringing would be enough to turn anyone into a hateful, spiteful monster.

But not her. All that pain, and it just made her kind.

\------------

The two walked up to the pool, quickly getting shelter from the rain under the building.

“Alright,” Will began, looking to El, “This shouldn’t take too long…” He muttered, walking up to the manager, who was lounging behind a counter at the front. “We’re looking for Heather.” Will addressed, quick, to the point. If Heather was alive, she was probably in trouble, and every second wasted was another second where she could be hurt, or worse.

The manager didn’t even glance up from his magazine. “Why?”

El reached into the pocket of her raincoat, holding up the lifeguard bag. “We found this.”

The manager finally looked up. “Oh, yeah, that’s hers… I’ll get it back to her.”

“Look, dude, we found it in the middle of nowhere with what looked like blood on it.” Will seriously leaned in. “We _just_ want to know if she’s okay or not.”

The manager huffed, looking down. “She’s not here. She quit on me today.”

“Okay, that’s _all_ we needed to hear from the start.” Will muttered, pushing away.

Movement out of the corner of his eye grabbed his attention, and he turned to look, as El walked over to the corkboard were announcements and the like were posted.

One was a picture of a girl only a handful of years older than Will and El, standing proudly in front of the pool.

“Heather.” Will read the name under the photo. He glanced at El. “Do you think you can find her?”

El steeled her jaw and nodded.

\----------

Will went from shower to shower, turning each handle all the way. He didn’t care about the temperature of the water, just how loud it was. The rain _might_ have been good for some white noise, but it was too muffled by the building for El to take advantage of.

While he was busy doing that, El fashioned a pair of goggles into a makeshift blindfold.

When the two were done with their respective tasks, El sat down, and Will watched as she slipped into the void again.

It was much more worrying, this time, than it had been before. That time, they didn’t know that Billy could see them.

And they didn’t Billy had been taken by the Mind Flayer.

Well, they didn’t know that now either, but Will had a strong hunch. Plus, there was the ice bath. Ways of cooling down weren’t uncommon in the summer, but an ice bath was taking it way too far. A pool’s average temperature, around sixty degrees or so, was more than enough to cool someone down.

“What do you see?” Will asked after a few moments of waiting.

“A door.” El replied, sounding confused at it herself. “A red door.”

A few seconds of tense silence passed before El suddenly yelped in fear, breathing heavily. Will couldn’t understand what she was muttering, but he guessed it was going wrong, somehow.

“El!” Will shot over to her, as she ripped off the mask. “El, what happened!?”

The girl looked to him, breathing heavily, before she pulled him in, trying to steady herself, shaking.

Damnit, he shouldn’t have played that bottle game to begin with.

\------------

A few hours passed while El tried to get herself back into some semblance of calm. Once that had been accomplished, the two continued on their way to the place where Heather was now, apparently. Night had fallen, adding only more onto the weirdness of everything going down.

“You’re sure this is the place?” Will asked of El.

The girl nodded seriously, taking Will’s hand, forcefully pulling him up to the house at the top of the hill.

Her eyes narrowed, and he could tell she was going to unlock the door, but he put a hand on her shoulder.

“Let’s not go inside.” Will said. “People are here, and they don’t like it when strangers come in uninvited.”

El nodded her understanding of the concept and allowed Will to lead her around the side. Music was muffled by the wall between the inside and the outside, and Will gingerly peeked through each window.

He came to one that led into the dining room, and Will was terribly confused by what he saw inside.

Older people who could only be Heather’s parents sat at the dining room table, eating dinner with Billy like nothing was wrong. And was that…

“Max.” El recognized with a confused frown. “What’s she doing here?”

The four at the table were all talking and laughing, chatting amongst themselves lightheartedly.

Then, Heather came in, looking perfectly alright, and things only got more confusing from there. She was carrying a baking sheet, cookies hot and fresh on the metal, as she went to the table to set the tray down.

“She’s fine…?” Will muttered, him and El just as confused as each other.

“But there was blood…” El murmured, turning to Will. “Why was there blood?”

“…Maybe it was Billy’s.” Will considered. “And he forgot to get it up.”

“B-B-But I _saw_ -“

“Shit, get down!” Will ordered, ducking down from the window as one of the occupants looked that way, pulling El after him. “Sorry. I think Billy was about to see us.”

“Will,” El addressed, breathless. “What is going on? Why is Max there? Why is _Heather_ fine!?”

“I don’t know…” Will replied. “But-“ He suddenly stiffened, as the hairs on the back of his neck shot up, his body feeling like he was plunging down a rollercoaster without a harness.

“Will?” El worriedly looked him over. “What’s wrong?”

“…It’s him.” Will stated with finality. “He’s back.”

Even playing the pronoun game, El knew exactly what Will was talking about. There was no room for misinterpretation.

The Mind Flayer was back.


	5. Chapter 5

Thunder cracked outside, rumbling the aged structure of the Byers house, as rain came down so hard none inside could tell if it was the rain that was so loud or the roaring of the wind.

When Will and El had come back, they were at a loss for what to do. Billy had apparently been taken, yes, but they couldn’t just… go up to him and force it out of him. And _Max_ was there with him, which was still confusing to him.

Besides, there was still a small sliver of doubt that Billy _was_ possessed. If he wasn’t, and they went around accusing and the like when he _wasn’t_ possessed…

It could end badly.

Will sat on the couch in the living room, rubbing his face, still at a loss for what to do.

El came out of the bathroom, ready for sleep, and sat down on the couch next to Will.

Will looked at her. There was confusion and turmoil practically _written_ all over her face. “You okay?”

“It… doesn’t make _sense.”_ El frustratedly grunted.

Will huffed internally. That was true about everything they’d seen so far. “What doesn’t?”

“Heather.” El spoke after a moment. “The blood… the ice. And Max was there.”

“Yeah…” Will frowned in thought. “But I mean, Max was with him, right? She was here when everything was going down last time at Halloween. If Billy was possessed, wouldn’t she have told us by now?” At least, that’s what Will was telling himself.

He did _not_ want to face off against a possessed Billy. The Mind Flayer was bad enough, but from what his mother and the others had told him after getting it out of him, it apparently _enhanced_ its hosts as well. Will was a wet noodle compared to the others, but under the Mind Flayer’s control, he had the strength to break handcuffs and _lift_ his mother up by the neck.

Someone like Billy, who was already built like a weight trainer… Will couldn’t, and didn’t really want to, think about the kind of strength boost he’d get.

“But didn’t Billy seem… wrong to you?” El asked.

Will bit his lip. “I don’t know. I don’t really know Billy well enough to answer that. The only person I talk to from that family is Max, and she seemed alright enough to me.” Her usual slightly sarcastic tomboy self, at least. Though it was kind of… tempered, but Will had assumed that was because she was around people she didn’t know as well, older people, who might mistake her personality quirks for being rude.

El slowly nodded, looking away. “I wish we could ask your mom.”

“My mom?” Will repeated. “How come?”

“She dealt with you when you were… possessed.” El said the word slowly, like it might trigger a flashback or something in Will. Not really, but he respected her tact at least. “Maybe she’d…”

“Recognize the symptoms?” Will finished, causing El to nod.

Will sighed. El had a point there. But Joyce was gone, doing something with Hopper if the letter she left was to be believed. It was very vague on what they were going to do, and if Will didn’t know better, he might say his mom might’ve been intentionally trying to keep what she was doing secret.

Not that he had a problem with that. She was a grown woman; she didn’t have to tell her sons everything.

“Well…” Will bit his lip, thinking about the plan he’d come up with. Tomorrow, he was going to try and get in touch with the others, see if he could get Mike and Lucas’s heads out of their asses long enough to figure out where to go from there.

But for now…

“What do you want to watch?” Will asked, getting up to go for the stack of VHS tapes in the cabinet in the entertainment center. “We’ve got E.T…”

El tilted her head. “E.T?”

“Yeah, it’s about a kid who finds an alien and hides him from the government.” Will explained, blinking. “Actually, on second thought, that might be a bit too close to home. The Thing… That one might be a bit too… much.” Will moved down the line. “Oh…” He got a smile on his face, pulling out one cardboard sleeve with a tape in.

Will turned to El, holding it up with a smile.

El tilted her head inquisitively. “Is that Han Solo?”

“Nope. Well, it’s Harrison Ford, but he plays someone different in this.” Will tapped the picture on the front twice. “Indiana Jones.”

“Indiana?” El looked up to Will’s eyes. “Like-?”

Will laughed. “Well, kinda. It’s just what he calls himself.” He looked down at the sleeve with a happy smile. “This is one of my favorite movies. After my dad left, Jonathan and I sat down and watched this all night. We ate ourselves sick off popcorn and candy.”

El let out a slight laugh that was a mix between a huff and a chuckle, as she nodded her approval, and Will went to put the movie in the VHS player, before going to kill the lights, back to the couch.

He sat down, and El grabbed the blanket, throwing it over herself as logos and warnings began to flash by.

\-----------

Will was awoken in the middle of the night with a start by thunder, jumping slightly as the house rumbled like an earthquake was happening.

He could feel something pressing into his side, and for a moment, he panicked, before he registered the warmth and the faint movement of the body next to him.

Will let out a relieved sigh. It was just El.

They must’ve fallen asleep during the movie.

With a tiny, happy smile on his face, Will closed his eyes, and slipped back into unconsciousness, letting all of the problems of the world just float away, as he focused on nothing more than the form by his side.


	6. Chapter 6

The first thing that Will did the next morning after the storm blew threw the town was go for his supercom. Well, actually, the first thing he did was make breakfast. No good trying to figure out what was going on on an empty stomach.

But, nevertheless, after he and El got done eating, Will grabbed his radio, tuning it to the channel the Party used.

“Mike, Lucas, Dustin?” Will radioed. “Do you guys copy? This is a Code Red.” Will released the button, allowing his words to hit, before he held it down again. “I’m telling you guys, this is a Code Red, pick up.”

 _“Will…”_ Mike replied in a harsh growl. _“Shut up.”_

“Mike!” Will shouted, knowing that he was probably going to shut off the radio. “Get your head outta your ass and listen to me for a second! He’s back, do you hear me!?”

_“…Who’s back?”_

“You know who.”

 _“Oh… God… DAMNIT!”_ Mike bellowed furiously. _“Fuck, fuck! Alright, okay, okay, alright… um… you and El get over to my house, pronto! I’ll tell Lucas to call Max-“_

“No!” Will cut him off before he could go any further. “Don’t call Max!”

_“What? Why!?”_

Will looked at the radio. If Billy had been possessed, and he was hanging around Max, it was a very possible probability that anything they said could be heard on the channel.

“I’ll explain everything when we get there.” Will replied in a rush. “It’ll make sense, but I’m telling you: Don’t. Call. Max. Don’t even _talk_ to Max, got it!?”

 _“Will, what’s going on?”_ Mike demanded. _“You’re seriously starting to freak me out!”_

“I’ll see you in a minute!” Will offered in response, scrambling to make himself ready.

El blinked as she came out of the kitchen, rubbing her eyes, trying to pat her bed hair down. “What’s going on?”

“We’ve gotta go to Mike’s.” Will answered, slipping the straps of his suspenders over his shoulders.

El recoiled in confusion. “Mike’s? I don’t wanna go to Mike’s.”

“Well, we’ve gotta explain what’s going on.” Will retorted, hopping on one foot as he tried to get his shoe on. “There’s no way we’re going to figure out what’s going on on our own.”

El sighed, rubbing her eyes. “I’ll get dressed.”

\--------------

“…I didn’t think it was anything at first.” Will began, the four of them gathered in Mike’s basement. It felt _wrong_ without Dustin, and even though she had been a relatively recent new arrival, it felt _wrong_ without Max as well.

But Dustin was AWOL and Max was… compromised? He hoped not, but Will had no clue if the Mind Flayer could possess more than one person. So, until they confirmed that, it had to be just the four of them.

“I mean, I didn’t think I wanted to believe it.” Will continued uncertainly. “The first time I felt it was when we went to go see _Day of the Dead_.”

Mike looked to Will, gaping. “And you didn’t _say_ anything!?”

“Like I said…” Will shrugged weakly. “I didn’t think it was anything.”

“The power went out that night too, though.” Lucas recalled.

“And then I felt it again at the field at the Nelson farm.” Will continued.

“Cerebro.” Mike remembered. “You didn’t say anything _then_ either!”

“I thought they were just… chills.” Will replied. “Like… you just _get_ them sometimes.”

“But how do you _know,_ ” Lucas began, “That it’s the Mind Flayer?”

Will licked his lips, thinking. “Yesterday, El and I were… investigating. Billy had seen her in the void.”

Mike stiffened. “He _saw_ you!?”

El nodded, none to pleased about it herself. “Yes.”

“And then she said she saw him doing something… weird.” Will continued on with the explanation. “So we went to his house.”

“Wait,” Lucas interrupted. “You went to Billy’s _house_? And he just… let you guys in?”

“Well, um, no.” Will rubbed the back of his neck. “We kinda… broke in.”

“Yeah, okay, cause that makes it so much more okay.” Lucas sarcastically replied.

“But anyway,” Will kept on, “We found Heather’s lifeguard bag, and blood, so we went to her house, and started spying through the outside window. And we saw-“

“Billy.” Mike finished.

Will nodded in confirmation. “He was sitting there, eating dinner with Heather’s parents. The thing is, Heather was totally fine. And _Max_ was there. But Billy, he was acting… weird.”

“Weird how?” Lucas asked.

“All… polite and sugary sweet almost.” Will explained. “Now, I don’t know a lot about Billy, but that wasn’t like _anything_ I’d heard about him before. And then there was Max, and she was acting all… subdued. I thought it was her just acting polite around strangers, but you know Max, she doesn’t have a filter… and then I felt it.”

“Felt what?” Mike asked.

“Billy looked to the window, and I got us out of the way in time… but it was another chill, like the ones before.” Will explained. “You know… rollercoasters?”

“Yes.” Mike and Lucas answered at once.

“No.” El shook her head.

“It’s like… everything in your body is sinking all at once.” Will began shakily. “Like you’re falling without anything to catch you… you’re paralyzed… and it’s so _cold…_ ”

El looked to Will with a worried expression, rubbing him on the back like she’d seen people on the TV do when talking about difficult things.

“I felt it before.” Will began, becoming just a bit steadier. “When I was… possessed.”

“But…” Mike began, swallowing. “El closed the gate.”

“I know, but…” Will looked to the others gravely. “What if he never left? What if the piece that was in _me_ couldn’t make it back before the gate closed? And it’s been stuck here, on our side, waiting… plotting.”

“And if it’s stuck here… It’d want to attach itself to a new host.” Lucas realized where this train of thought was going.

El’s face locked in a scowl. “Billy.”

\--------------

The four stood in the parking lot of the public pool, watching as Billy at the top of the lifeguard tower, wearing a sweater, keeping himself covered up.

“That’s… pretty weird.” Mike remarked, handing the binoculars to Lucas. “Guy like Billy, you think he’d want to show his body off as much as he could.”

“Yeah,” Lucas agreed. “I don’t see Max anywhere though.”

“Or Heather.” El noted.

“They’re part of this, I can feel it.” Will stated with resolve. “But why… the Mind Flayer took me because I was stuck in the Upside Down for so long. All he really needs is Billy… why take the others?”

“Can he even _possess_ multiple people at once?” Lucas questioned.

“It’s like we figured out last time,” Mike began, “Superorganism. The whole Upside Down is a part of him… why can’t it work the same for multiple people?”

Lucas huffed, throwing up his hands. “Okay. You guys can go ahead and write Max off all you want, but I’m telling you guys-“

“Lucas,” Will began, “I wanna be wrong. Trust me… but we have to assume the worst. Cause think about it. If I’m _not_ wrong, we have a lot more to worry about than just Max.” He looked to the lifeguard tower. “We need a way to figure out if it’s him, fast.”

“Heat.” El stated, looking to them. “We need to make him hot.”

The three boys blinked.

“Okay, El,” Lucas held up his fingers, “Today’s lesson is on ‘phrasing.’”

Mike gasped, eyes widening. “No, I’ve got it!” He rushed off in a huff. “Will, Lucas, come on!”

El looked on, frustrated. “Where are you guys going!?”

“I’ve got an idea!” Mike replied. “But boys only!”

El sighed, flopping down on a nearby car, as the others ran off.

\-------------

Will had to admit, he did like the ‘lock Billy in the sauna and crank it up’ plan quite a bit, even if he wasn’t the one to come up with it. Unlike when his mom and the others tried to burn it out of him, they wouldn’t have to bother with restraining Billy himself, just luring him into the room. Then, they could lock the door by jamming a crowbar or something in the handle, and that would be that.

Of course, that did leave the issue of getting Billy _into_ the sauna, but they had an idea for that.

Will and Lucas broke off together, going for the maintenance shed around the back, raiding the place for supplies.

“So…” Lucas suddenly glanced at Will. “What’s this thing going on between you and El all about?”

Will coughed, dust assaulting his nose, as the sudden promptness of Lucas’s question startled him. “What?”

“You and El.” Lucas repeated. “You disappear on us one morning, you show up with her arm in yours at the mall, she breaks up with Mike, and now she’s dressing like you.”

Will blinked, glowering. “She’s not dressing like me.”

“One word, Will,” Lucas pointed, “Suspenders.”

Well, he did have a point there. Will hadn’t really noticed it when they left, but El’s outfit almost kinda mirrored his. Only her shirt was patterned and colorful, and the suspenders were just as colorful to match.

“Hey, these are comfy!” Will retorted, snapping the straps to accentuate his point. “Don’t knock ‘em till you try ‘em. Trust me, your waist will thank you.” He turned back around, going to search through the supplies. “Besides,” He muttered, “She’s not your girlfriend, so I don’t know why you care.”

“She isn’t.” Lucas admitted. “But she’s my _friend,_ and so are you and Mike. I don’t want to see _anybody_ get hurt.”

“You don’t have to worry about it.” Will replied, looking for a change. “Whatever happens… happens.” He pulled out a thick chain. “This should hold him.”

“…It is a good look, though.”

Will looked down at himself. “What, you think so?”

“Sure.” Lucas replied. “Just get a jacket to cover those damn things.” He demanded, poking one of the straps running across Will’s torso.

\------------

The padlock unlocked by itself, falling out of place, as El opened the door for one of the pool’s storage rooms, going inside to grab what she had been told to get.

She went for the CPR dummy, and lifted it, hefting it over her shoulder.

“Hey,” Mike came running in, “I found the breakers.”

El stopped, facing the wall, closing her eyes as frustration bubbled within her, and she turned around.

“Whoa, that thing is super creepy.” Mike let out a little dorky laugh, as he grabbed it. “Let me see it.” He held it a little way out in front of him. “I think this’ll work. Right, buddy?” He posed to the dummy. “’Right Mike!’” He replied to his own question in a high-pitched voice, turning to El.

She was decidedly not amused, and snatched the dummy away from him, going to exit the room.

“Hey, El…” Mike called, causing her to stop. “I just wanted to say… you know when I said Nana was sick? She wasn’t. I lied.”

El stared. Like she was stupid enough to have to be told that. Why did he think she dumped his ass in the first place then? “I know.”

“Right, right, right.” Mike rambled as she turned to leave again. “I just… think it was important for you to know the context.”

El frowned. “What context?” Will had said there was nuance behind lies, but the rule only applied to little stuff, and this was a big thing.

“Hopper,” Mike continued, “He went all crazy on me, telling me I’m spending way too much time with you. He _made_ me lie! I mean, you’re the most important thing in the world to me.”

El looked at him with dripping sarcasm. “He _made_ you?”

“Yes!” Mike didn’t pick it up, sounding relieved. “I’m glad you understand.”

El shook her head, tossing the dummy to the floor. “What if he’s right?”

“What?” Mike incredulously asked.

“Hop.” El stated.

“No, no, no, no, no.” Mike vehemently stated. “He’s just some angry old man who hates joy.”

El tilted her head and crossed her arms. “So… when he _made_ you lie, how did he do it?”

“Sorry?”

“How did he _make_ you lie?” El asked. “Did he have a gun? Did he hold you down and make you talk? How?”

“W-Well, no, but-“

“Then he didn’t _make_ you do anything.” El cut him off, picking up the dummy. “Besides… Different species, remember?”

Mike’s brow furrowed in confusion, before he gasped. “Did you spy on me!? That’s totally against the rules!”

El tilted her head. “If the rules don’t apply to _you,_ why me?” She asked, storming out.

\-------------

“Alright.” Lucas muttered, surveying the area for one quick second. “Coast is clear. It’s just him in there now.”

“Got it.” El replied, narrowing her eyes. Doors and the like began to clang and scrape as they stealthily moved through the building, hiding in the shadows.

“Pool’s closed.” They could hear Billy distantly call, as El locked the outside door. “HEY!” He bellowed. “POOL IS CLOSED!”

El looked to Mike and nodded.

He moved the switch on the front, switching the channel to the one they’d determined before, and Mike began to speak into the radio.

“Billy…” Mike taunted. “Billy… Billy!”

“Who’s there?” Billy called back in a sing-song manner.

Mike laughed into the radio. “Billy! Come and get me you piece of shit!”

The four watched as Billy stormed into their section, thankful that the darkness and objects in the room were concealing them.

Billy’s eyes focused on the figure in the sauna. “Got you…” He growled, before marching inside, grabbing and lifting the dummy by the neck.

“NOW!” Mike roared, the four running out.

Billy whipped back around, and El motioned with her head, sending him flying back into the wall, shattering the tile, before she slammed the door.

Mike jammed a section of pipe in the handle and the adjacent pipe, as Will wrapped a chain through, securing it with the padlock.

Once that was done, they stepped back, as Billy pounded on the door like a wild animal.

El’s eyes locked on the man inside, and they narrowed. “Do it.” She ordered.

Will nodded, turning the sauna on via the panel at the side.

A few tense moments passed as the steam inside made the glass fog up, and Billy vanished out of sight.

It was a few moments of worrying if they had the wrong guy, before Billy sprung back into view, pounding on the door. “Let me out of here!” He bellowed. “You think this is _funny_? You kids think this is some kind of sick prank, huh?” He breathed heavily, like the steam was making it difficult for him to breathe. Billy spat on the window, and the four just shook their heads in disgust. “You little shits think this is funny!?” Billy seethed with rage. “ _Open_ the door… _OPEN THE DOOR! OPEN THE DOOR!”_

Will inhaled. Repeating the same phrase over and over ad verbatim… that was definitely the Mind Flayer’s way of speaking.

Billy stepped back, falling to the floor as he screamed.

Will checked the temperature gauge on the side. “Two-twenty… We’re there.”

Billy began to sob. “It’s not my fault… It’s not my fault… It’s not my fault…”

“What?” Lucas chose that moment to speak up again. “What isn’t?”

“Max…” Billy sobbed. “Oh my God, Max…”

Mike’s face twisted in horror. “Max? What happened to her?”

“It’s not my fault, it’s not my fault, please…” Billy cried uncontrollably. “She’s… that thing…”

“What!?” Lucas stormed over to the window. “What thing!?”

“It got her… It got Max…” Billy sobbed, rocking on the floor like a baby. “It made me… it made me do it, I’m sorry.”

Lucas’s jaw dropped, before he saw red. “What did you do!? What did you do to her you son of a bitch!?”

“Billy,” Mike addressed, “We want to help you…” God, he hoped his acting was good. He only ever acted in one thing and that was a nativity play and he got out easy because he was the baby Jesus. “But you need to talk to us. What made you do what?”

“I don’t know…” Billy hysterically mumbled. “I don’t know, it’s like a shadow... Please… Max…”

“What did it make you do?” Lucas pressed, growling in fury.

“It’s not my fault okay!?” Billy cried, flopping over. “Please! I tried to stop it, okay, I did… But it’s too strong… It got Max…”

The hairs on the back of Will’s neck stood stiff, as Billy reached under the bench in the sauna. “Guys… get back.”

“What?” Lucas turned around.

“GET BACK!” Will bellowed, as Billy suddenly shot to his feet, and broke through the glass of the door.

Lucas and Mike shot back just in time as Billy broke through, raging like a bull.

“I’LL KILL YOU!” Billy snarled ferally. “YOU HEAR ME, YOU LITTLE SHITS!? I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL GUT YOU ALL ALIVE!” He reached down, pulling the pipe out of the door handle.

Lucas reached for his slingshot, firing a rock at Billy’s face.

Billy was knocked to the floor, and the lights began to flicker.

“Oh… shit.” Mike cursed.

The sounds of popping and cracking, bones ripping themselves apart, came from the sauna, as Billy stood back up, looking absolutely ripped… and supremely pissed off.

Will inhaled. So, that was what happened when the Mind Flayer enhanced an adult.

With a single kick from his bare feet, Billy snapped clean through the chain, knocking the door off its hinges, marching out of the sauna like a demon emerging from the gates of Hell.

He took two marching steps out, before El raised a hand, lifting the barbell beside her. With a scream of fury, she threw it, pinning Billy up against the wall. She raised another hand, grunting in fury, as the bricks cracked under the weight.

Billy’s veins protruded from his skin, an inky black color that reminded Will of death, before he began to push back against the weight.

Billy roared as he threw the weight off, El ducking to dodge it a microsecond later.

He walked over, locking his hand around her neck, pulling her up. The others stood there, frozen, forced to watch as Billy choked the life out of their friend.

“No!” El kicked and struggled as she was held up. “No!”

Will, flying into fight mode, grabbed a dumbbell, hefting it like a baseball bat. Running on autopilot, trusting in his instincts and ignoring the rational part of his brain, he ran over, and swung, hitting Billy in the back of the head as hard as he could.

El dropped as blood went flying, Billy falling to the floor.

Will raised the dumbbell again, about to swing, when Billy turned himself over, grabbing the heavy metal weight with his hand.

Billy yanked it out of Will’s hand, tossing it to the side.

Billy didn’t say anything, but Will could see the hate, the sheer _loathing_ in his eyes, as Billy advanced upon him.

And then, Billy stopped, floating up.

With both arms outstretched, and an enraged roar forming from her shredded throat, El swung, throwing Billy right through the brick wall, before she collapsed.

“El!” Will breathlessly fell to her side, as she began to cry, the fact that she had almost _died_ hitting her full force. “I’ve got you.” He said, helping her up. “Here, I’ve got you…”

Mike stood, watching that scene, frozen, before he ran over to the hole in the wall. He watched, as Billy ran off into the night.

He looked back, seeing Will checking El over, whispering into her ear to keep her calm.

Everything had gone to shit.


	7. Chapter 7

Will, Dustin, and Lucas sat in Mike’s basement, watching quietly as El searched the void for Hopper. With Billy out of their reach, he was the closest person they could find who could call in the calvary, but there was a small issue with that plan.

“Where is he?” Mike inquired.

“Woods.” El hoarsely answered, a ring around her neck from where Billy had grabbed her.

“Woods?” Lucas repeated with a frown.

“He’s with… Will’s mom.”

“M-My mom?” Will repeated in confusion. Why was his mom in the woods with Hopper? Unless… “What are they doing?”

“Ill-annoy…” El answered. “They’re going to Ill-annoy.”

“Mike!” Karen knocked on the basement door. “Breakfast!”

“Not now, mom!” Mike yelled back. “Illinois?” He turned back to El. “Why Illinois?”

El could only shrug in response.

\-----------

Will wet the rag under the tap, going to wipe the blood away from El’s nose for her. She rubbed the red line on her neck, and Will frowned in concern. “Does it hurt?”

“Only…” El replied. “Only when I talk.”

“Hm…” Will bent down slightly, checking her out. No, wait, I meant checking the _ring_ out. He gently reached out, gently running a finger along the irritated skin. “You think some ice water might help?”

El considered it for a moment, before nodding. “Yes.”

Will reached into his pocket, pulling out a water bottle, the outside still cold and damp from condensation.

El blinked. “How did-“

“I got it upstairs.” Will answered. “Figured you might need it.”

El smiled as she took it. Will had initiative, that was for certain.

Will’s ears poked up as he turned to the door, hearing the voices on the other side.

“It’s not over…” Mike muttered. “We’re just… taking a break.”

“No, the Hell!” Will raised his voice, and El burst into giggles. “Word to the wise: Let El decide that since _she_ dumped _you!_ ”

“Go to Hell!” Mike shot back with only a slight bit of venom. Will didn’t care. Mike couldn’t ever stay mad at him for long, and likewise, Will couldn’t stay angry at Mike for long either. “This is your fault, I know it!”

“Hey, I may have _said_ dump,” Will granted, “But I _also_ said it was pretty extreme and advised _against_ it! Cut me some slack!”

El descended into a fit of laughter, having to brace herself on Will. “Will?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t have to fight for me.” She stated.

“Nah,” Will concurred. She had mind powers; she could handle herself. “But Mike needs someone to take him down just a peg or two. That’s what friends do.”

“Friends…” El repeated, sounding like her mind was elsewhere. “Will… I have a question.”

Will raised an eyebrow. “What kind of question?”

“A serious one.” El answered. “Do you think me and Mike are better as… friends?”

Will looked at her inquisitively. “What makes you think that?”

“The mall and everything was fun.” El answered after a moment. “But when he was my boyfriend I spent all my time with him. I didn’t see you, or Lucas, or Dustin, or Max. It was just me and Mike. But then we broke up and now I’m spending time with others.”

“…El, I can’t tell you what to do.” Will replied. “I can only let you make the decision on your own. It doesn’t _have_ to be you and Mike all the time, even when you guys are dating.”

“But he wants it to be.” El replied. “Like at… Cerebro. I only wanted to leave because he said something.”

“Then think about it like this;” Will suggested. “If all Mike wants to do is spend time with you, but that isn’t what _you_ want, you don’t have to keep it up to make him happy.”

“But… he wants to make me happy.” El replied slowly.

“…Does he?” Will asked. “El... that time at the mall… did you go out and do _anything_ before then?”

The girl shook her head. “Just the snow ball.”

“And… did you do anything before _that?”_ Will pressed, and El shook her head again.

In a way, it all clicked together then. El was starved, craving interaction with the outside world. Hopper was keeping El cooped up in the cabin to keep her safe, and Mike was trying to keep compliant with Hopper’s wishes.

“Shit…” Will muttered, rubbing his face. “El, I’m sorry. But you really can’t blame Mike. He loves you, and was trying to keep you safe, like Hopper.”

“…if he loved me enough, ‘safety’ wouldn’t matter.” El retorted, crossing her arms, looking away.

“…Fair enough.” Will granted. “Absolutely fair enough.” Mike shouldn’t have let Hopper’s wishes stop him, no matter what situation.

“It means he respects Hopper more than me.” El seethed, shaking her head. “But I can’t stay angry. I don’t want to be angry all the time. It’s tiring.”

“Yeah.” Will agreed. “Don’t be angry… If Mike tries to apologize, genuinely, accept it. But if he tries to act like it means he’s your girlfriend again, let him know where he stands. You can choose to take him back, he can’t _make_ you.” He advised. “Otherwise, it won’t be good for him, or you.”

“I will.” El pledged. Her look went soft, and she threw her arms around him, gently pulling him in. “Thank you Will, for everything.”

Will stood for a moment, before he properly returned it. “Don’t mention it, El. I’m glad I could help.

“…Will?”

Will huffed, smiling. “More questions?”

“No… just something I need to say. The other night at Enzo’s-“

The door suddenly burst opened, and the two jumped, pulling away from each other, as Mike threw it open.

“Will!” Mike huffed and puffed. “Nancy needs to talk to you, now.”

\------------

“It was the same thing,” Nancy anxiously stated, “The _exact_ same thing that happened to Will last year. And look-“ She passed over a sheet of paper. “Look at the body temperatures.

Will looked with a tilted head at the page presented to him, recovered from the hospital. Ninety-five degrees, below the human norm. “He likes it cold…”

“Okay,” Mike rubbed his face, “This crazy old woman who likes to eat fertilizer-“

“Mrs. Driscoll.” Nancy corrected.

“Mrs. Driscoll,” Mike echoed, “What time did this happen last night?”

“Around nine.” Nancy answered.

Jonathan, with his hands on his hips, looked at her in a questioning manner. “You waited all night to call?”

“I was waiting for the doctors to run some tests.” Nancy defended, looking not phased in the slightest.

Will leaned forward. Jonathan and Nancy were attached at the hip, which meant whenever they separated was an odd occasion. “You weren’t there?”

“Well,” Jonathan threw his arms out, “I’m here now, aren’t I?”

Nancy sarcastically huffed. “Whoop-de-fucking-do.”

Oh, they were caught in a relationship spat too. Funny, there seemed to be a lot of those this summer. Summer of Love, more like summer of failed love.

“Um, so--” Nancy rubbed her face, “What time was your… ‘sauna test?’”

“Around nine.” Mike answered.

“Well that proves it!” Nancy stated confidently. “That proves my theory!”

“He’s flayed, just like Billy.” Mike concluded.

“Like… Max.” El swallowed. There was no other explanation for Billy’s breakdown before the Mind Flayer activated him.

“Flayed?” Jonathan repeated.

“Yeah.” Mike nodded. “He’s the Mind Flayer. He flays minds.”

“Oh, right, dumb question.” Jonathan huffed.

“W-Wait,” Nancy looked to El, “Like Max?”

“…yeah.” Lucas answered for the girl, having been unwilling to prove it before, but now unable to deny it. “Like Max… If she, Mrs. Driscoll, and Billy have all been flayed… we have to assume there are more.”

“Heather.” El gulped. “Billy was doing… something to her.” She leaned forward. “That’s why me and Will were looking for her…”

“Wait, I’m lost,” Nancy held up her hands. “Who’s Heather?”

“The lifeguard at the pool.” Will answered, rubbing El’s back with a hand as she looked lost in anxious thought.

“Heather _Holloway?”_ Nancy questioned incredulously.

Will nodded.

Jonathan and Nancy both snapped to look at each other, breathing a single word. “Tom.”

\-----------

The group from the basement ran out to the station wagon, Mike and Lucas piling into the back seat. Mike scooted over, making room for El, but she looked to the very back, as Will sat down. She crawled in after him, shutting the door.

“Drive,” El commanded, looking past Mike to Nancy.


	8. Chapter 8

Nancy, taking the lead of the group, led them to the Holloways’ house, the same one where Will and El had seen Billy, Heather, and Max acting off. El had opened the door, allowing the Party access, and inside, they found the house to be in a right old state. Rugs were pushed out of alignment, furniture was overturned, broken glass was everywhere, and the pungent stench of cleaners filled the air.

But nobody was there. Not Tom, his wife, or Heather.

The group continued through the house, surveying the area for any clues as to what happened. They found a bottle of wine, stained with blood, and checking the garage, they found rope, faintly tainted by blood as well.

Didn’t take them long to figure out the Holloways had been taken somewhere against their will. And if they had been taken somewhere, it was probably the source of whatever was causing people to become flayed.

Then Nancy, recalling Driscoll’s words, decided that it’d be a good idea to let her out of the hospital to follow her to the source.

So, that’s where they were now. The receptionist wouldn’t let two people past at a time, so while Nancy and Jonathan went up, the others were forced to sit in the lobby.

Will was sat down in a chair, reading a magazine, before the peace and tranquility he was currently experiencing was broken by the bellow of a wild animal.

“Oh, come on you piece of shit!” Mike snarled, banging against the side of the vending machine. Lucas joined him in his efforts to get the candy free, making a racket in the hospital.

The two suddenly jumped back, as the candy audibly hit the glass.

Will looked over to El, the girl wiping her nose.

“Thanks.” Mike offered, going to join Lucas in fishing the candy out.

“So,” Will quietly turned to El once he was certain he couldn’t be heard, “Does that mean you forgive him?”

“…no.” El replied after a moment’s consideration. “He still needs to apologize. I did that for Lucas.”

“Right.” Will turned to look back. If Max was flayed… Lucas would need all the help he could get.

And speaking of Lucas… he was walking over.

“Hey, Will,” Lucas held up a bag of M&M’s. “Wanna see how far you can stand away while I throw these at you?”

Will blinked. “Why… would I _ever_ do that? Do I _look_ like I wanna get pelted with candy? This is a new shirt, man!”

“Come on, it’ll be fun.” Lucas insisted.

Will sighed. He wasn’t stupid, he knew what this was. “Lucas, don’t bother. Mike can work up the balls to come over here and talk to El on his own.” He stood up, looking at Mike. “Let’s see if he does it.” He muttered, walking off.

Make no mistake, Will didn’t really want to just leave Mike and El to their own devices. Even though Mike was a good person, he could be insensitive and pig-headed at some times. It was something he shared with… well, the rest of his family really.

Regardless, this was something El had to do on her own. Will could be there as a safety net, if she so desired, but he wasn’t going to influence things just by being there.

\----------

“So…” Mike sat down next to El, once Will was out of the way. “You and Will… friends.”

El nodded, not looking at him. “Yes.”

“Cool…” Mike nodded. “I was wondering when you guys would get around to talking to each other. How’d that happen anyway?”

El tilted her head in thought. Truthfully speaking, she didn’t know herself. She hadn’t really considered him a friend before, just someone who she went to with problems that the others couldn’t fix. She _supposed_ it started at the mall, when he helped her with that day out.

At the end, she decided how it happened didn’t really mattered, just that it had happened, so she shrugged.

“Alright…” Mike nodded. “I like the new look by the way,” He pointed. “It’s cool.”

“Yeah…” El smiled, looking down at her new clothes. “Will helped.”

“Yeah, I noticed he got a new look too.” Mike noted, looking in Will’s direction, the boy and Lucas debating whether or not Superman or Godzilla would win in a fight. “New hair… it’s weird.”

“I like it.” El stated, tilting her head. “Makes him look… pretty.”

Mike snorted. “Pretty boy Will.”

She didn’t pick up on the teasing in that statement. “Yes.”

“So…” Mike segued into the next part he wanted to discuss. “You and him at the mall… what was that, like, a date?”

El tilted her head, considering. Friends hung out she knew that much. But if it was with a boyfriend, it was a date. And from what she’d seen on TV and reading in the magazines that she snuck past Hopper, dates normally meant shopping, eating dinner, kissing… all things she did with Will. But he wasn’t her boyfriend, was he?

Okay, it was time for El to think, honestly, think. Push Mike and what he obviously wanted out of her mind, and push Will and what he wanted out. Once that was done, she took a tally of what she knew.

Fact one: Boyfriends are closer to someone than regular friends. That was obvious. Dustin and Lucas were her friends too, and Max, but Mike was the one who held the mantle of boyfriend. Until she dumped him.

Fact two: Dumping meant she didn’t want Mike to be her boyfriend anymore. Which… yeah, okay, that sounded right in her mind. At the moment, it had been a spur-of-the-moment thing, to make Mike think about what he’d done wrong, which… yeah, obviously backfired given him welling in misery for the past couple of days. She _had_ intended on taking him back… until things went awry.

Which led into fact three: Will was starting to make her feel things. Awkward things. Confusing things. Mike was the more physical of the two, always wanting to hold hands, wanting to kiss and fool around, which is fair, but… well, there was only so much of that someone could handle before they got sick of it. Will was different. He didn’t want to hold her hand all the time, and the one time he kissed her, it was to keep Hopper from spotting them, not the needing, almost desperate sucking face that Mike stood out in her mind for. Both had felt nice enough, but for different ways.

So, El decided to herself, she had to think. Take all this in and come to a conclusion, like those science books always say to do. ‘Synthesize information,’ they called it. Her current train of thought went like this: Mike was dumped, she didn’t _have_ to go back to him. Any ‘romantic’ things that happened occurred _after_ the dumping, at Enzo’s, everything before that was just two friends goofing off in a shopping mall.

But… that still didn’t answer Mike’s question, did it? He had asked if the _mall_ was a date. Which caused El to again consider that. A date was two people spending time together, plain and simple… whether or not it had led to kissy stuff (which it had most definitely had at Enzo’s [speaking of which, she was going to have to talk to Will about that. Because, despite what he had told her, she felt _something_ more behind it]).

The plain fact of the matter was that, just like Mike had during that week in ’83, Will was starting to make her feel things she didn’t know she had.

“…yes.” El decided after a moment.

Mike sat still for a moment, frozen, before he slowly nodded, leaning back. “Good… good… good date?”

El nodded gently. “Yes. We ate dinner after we left the mall.”

“Dinner?” Mike frowned. “Where?”

“Enzo’s.” El answered. “It was good.”

“Right… right…” Mike nodded. “I’m…” He choked out, sounding destroyed. “I’m glad. You guys deserve to be happy, after all the shit you’ve both been through. I’m, uh… I’m gonna be right back.” He pushed himself up, going to the men’s room.

El watched, sad as he walked away. In all actuality, he probably just needed somewhere where he could be alone for a few moments, but in her mind, she misread that as him wanting to get away from her.

“I still wanted to be friends…” El muttered to herself, confused. The lights began to flicker and pop, and all heads snapped up.

A low rumbling shook the air, and Will stiffened, shaking. “He’s here.”

Flying into action, El was the first one to run for the stairs. With Jonathan and Nancy separated from the rest of them, it didn’t take a genius to figure out they were the easiest pickings.

"Come on!" Lucas hit Will in the upper arm, "Pretty boy!"

"What!?" Will stood confused for a few moments. "...oh, _I'm_ Pretty Boy!?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we get some hints as to Will's motivation for why he's doing all this this chapter. Although, it IS one of the weaker ones in my opinion. At this point, I'm just going through the scenes that would be different until Starcourt is destroyed. Then should come the really dirty stuff, and then the ending.

The disturbance at the hospital was… unsettling, to say the very least. After getting to the correct floor, they scrambled around, meeting up with Jonathan, trying to find Nancy.

Instead, they were met with a staggering, fleshy spider-like thing the size of two people at least, clawing and snapping, trying to get at Nancy.

El had dealt with it easily enough, and it fled into the sewer, but that still left the problem:

What the _hell_ was the Mind Flayer doing?

\----------

“Just what the hell was that thing?” Lucas questioned aloud once they had returned to a safe place, Hopper’s cabin to be precise. The Mind Flayer would likely have an idea where everybody’s houses were, thanks to the information it had gleamed when possessing Will, but as he hadn’t been to the cabin out in the woods before then, it likely had no clue where it was.

Nancy, shaking, disturbed, tried to find the words. “I have… _no_ god damn clue. But it was… god, it was…”

“Nancy?” Mike looked over, concerned. “It was what?”

“When we got up there, we ran into Bruce and Tom from the paper… We took care of them, but then…” Jonathan wretched just thinking about it. “They _melted_ into like this… jelly. And then became that thing.”

“Well,” Will glanced at Mike, “Looks like your theory about the flayed making something wasn’t far off the mark.”

“Yeah,” Mike snorted, “For whatever good that does us.”

“So, if they’d been flayed…” Lucas began, obviously thinking about Max, “It that going to happen to everyone else who’s been flayed?”

“I don’t know.” Mike answered. “But we have to assume so. We need to find them before that can happen.”

El nodded accommodatingly, going into her room. “Got it.”

Mike sighed, flopping down on the couch next to Will, as Nancy and Jonathan began to call places up, asking about rats. “So…”

“So…” Will replied.

“I heard from El you guys went on a date to the mall.” Mike was quick, succinct, and to the point. That made it better, in a way. Like ripping off a band-aid.

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t really a date.” Will awkwardly replied. It wasn’t, really. At least, he’d say that out loud. It kind of had been a date, hadn’t it? Shopping, dinner, followed by her staying the night…

“Well, that’s what El called it.” Mike muttered. “That’s what matters.”

“Well, if El said it…” Will sighed. “I’m sorry man, I didn’t mean for all this shit to happen.”

“I know you didn’t, but…” Mike began slowly. “El’s a free spirit. She can make her own choices… I have to respect that.” He looked Will in the eye. “Even if that means throwing me out on my ass. So… I guess I only have one more thing to say. Good luck, Will.”

Will gaped. “W-What?”

“I said good luck.” Mike wished. “I don’t want this to go sour, believe me… both of you guys are still my friends. But that being said…” Mike lowered his voice, narrowing his eyes. “I may not be her boyfriend anymore, but if you do _anything_ to hurt her, I will hunt you down, and kick your ass, understand?”

Will chuckled, mock-saluting. “Yes, sir.”

\-------------

Waiting for El to come out of that room with the information they sought was unbearable. Part of Will wanted to go in there and check up on El, it was taking her far too long, but another part told him to relax. She knew more about her powers than any one of them did. It wasn’t Will’s place to lecture her about her capacities, especially when he knew good and damn well that if it was him with the powers, he’d be running himself ragged trying to fix this mess.

He had to have faith that she knew what she was doing, regardless of how much it unsettled him.

Eventually, however, she emerged from the room with a bloodied nose, and all heads turned to her, inquiring.

“So…” Mike was the first one to speak up. “Find them?”

El stood there silently, before shaking her head.

\------------

Eventually, El had come up with the idea of doing a sort of… mind meld with Billy. With luck, his actual mind would still be conscious, and aware enough to (if not communicate with her properly) show her where the flayings were happening.

Tense minutes passed as they watched, transfixed, as El attempted to make contact carefully.

There was a small panic when she seemed to be reacting to something, her breathing speeding up and becoming erratic, but in time, that calmed, as she seemed to finally enter the mindscape she was searching for.

It took some time, but when El finally snapped out of it…

She was sobbing hysterically, reaching out for someone, _anyone_ to hold onto.

Will, naturally, was first to react at that point since Mike had backed off. He was quick to get on the ground next to her, holding her as she descended into a crying fit.

Whatever she saw… must’ve been horrible.

\-------------

So, if you had told Will he’d be spending the fourth of July running from a monster made of corpses that was being controlled by the same Elder God that possessed him last year… well, he wouldn’t have called you crazy. He might’ve done, at one point, but not anymore.

You know, there were some days where he wondered where his life got so _fucked_ up beyond all recognition.

It was exhilarating though. Not the good kind of exhilarating, like he got being around El just recently, but the _bad_ kind, the kind that meant that there was a very good probability he, his friends, and everybody else was going to die at the hands of some unknowable monstrosity from beyond our world.

If there was one, _one_ good thing that could come out of everything that’s happened, is that it’d make for an _awesome_ movie. Or maybe a novel… Or a comic book. Then he could draw the art himself.

Granted, he was only thinking those thoughts because, right now, if he stopped to think about everything that was actually happening… he might just shut down. There was a high probability that people he _knew_ (read: Max) had been melted down to make that… thing. The thing that felt around with tentacles with spiked mouths. God, he hated tentacles… so freaky and slimy and if Dustin was to be believed in Japan they-

Will shook himself out of it. There’d be time to contemplate Japan’s… questionable tastes later. They had gotten to some measure of safety, the Big Buy more precisely, after the creature had been driven back… but not after it had grabbed onto El, and bit down into her leg.

That was the single most disgusting wound he’d ever seen, and that was including the one time where he fell off his bike and popped one of his bones partway out of his arm.

That was _not_ a fun day.

Anyhow, going to clean El’s wound had been pretty much a guessing game. None of them had first aid training, although this was probably a good kick in the pants to use as an excuse. While the others scarpered off to search for supplies, Will sat with El, keeping her company while the others did their thing.

“So…” Will began, keeping his hand held with a towel to stop the bleeding. “Does that hurt?”

El weakly shook her head, looking slightly paler than usual from the blood loss. “Not bad.”

“If you need me to let up-“

“Will,” El cut him off, “I’ll be fine.”

“Okay…” Will nodded, looking down at the covered-up wound. “There’s gonna be one _hell_ of a scar. N-Not that that’s a bad thing.” He quickly added. “You’ll look even more cool.”

El chuckled quietly, nodding. “Bitchin’.”

Will chuckled in response, nodding as well. “Sure. Bitchin’… I talked to Mike.”

El tilted her head curiously. “What did you talk about?”

“Well… him and you, mostly.” Will replied. “But he told me something… interesting.”

“What was it?”

“Well, um…” Will nervously jittered. “He said you called our day at the mall together a date.”

El nodded. “Yeah? Was I not supposed to?”

“No!” Will denied. “I mean, no, you weren’t _not_ supposed to… I mean, you could’ve, I guess?” He turned his head. “Damnit, Will, phrasing…” He muttered frustratedly. He sighed, turning back to El. “I just wanted to tell you…”

El tilted her head. “Tell me what?”

“Well, um…” Will jittered. “…You know how I was stuck in the upside down for all that time? No other people, just monsters hunting me down? The entire place dead as a doornail?”

El nodded. “Yes.”

“Well… at the end of that week…” Will swallowed, working up the nerve to go on. “I was ready to die. Resigned myself to it… I was just going to lie down and let the monster come get me. And then…”

“And then what?” El quietly asked. Across the way, the radio crackled, tones cutting in and out.

“You showed up… like… an angel.” Will recalled. “Everything was so dark, and cold, and empty… and then I heard you, and I saw you, and I felt your warmth… and then you told me my mom was coming, and I decided that I wasn’t going to die there. So, I guess what I’m trying to say, even though I haven’t before… thanks. For saving me.”

El smiled, swallowing, her eyes glistened slightly with tears. “You’re welcome… and thanks.”

Will frowned in confusion. “For what?”

“Helping me through… this.” She gestured around. “With Mike.”

“Well…” Will shrugged. ”That’s what friends do.”

“…Will?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s…” El jittered nervously. “Something I need to tell you. You remember Enzo’s… that night, you kissed me.”

Uh oh, okay, here we go. Will took a deep breath, bracing himself for the coming sting of rejection. He’d seen it a hundred times in movies. He could do this… he could do this…

HE COULDN’T DO THIS.

“I just wanna say…” El licked her lips, thinking. “It felt-“

 _“ou copy, over!?”_ The radio crackled to life, startling both, their heads snapping over. _“This is a code red! I repeat, a code red!”_

Everything being forgotten in that moment, Will scrambled over to the radio, holding down the button. “Dustin!?”

_“Will!?”_

“Dustin!”

 _“Will!”_ Dustin yelled. _“Oh my God, Will! You have to listen! I know I’ve been MIA, and it’s not because of you guys blowing me off, well, actually, it’s is because you blew me off, but I wasn’t mad, well, actually, I was mad, but forget that! It was actually because I was trapped in a secret underground Russian bunker!”_

Will blinked, him and El looking at each other in confusion, as the radio crackled. “What?” Will questioned.

 _“The Russians have infiltrated Hawkins!”_ Dustin squeaked. _“You hear me!? The God damn Russians! And now they’re using-- to-- gate!”_

“Dustin?” Will asked. “Can you hear me? You’re breaking up!”

_“We’ve--stuck! Need--come--get us! --drive!?”_

“Dustin, I can’t understand you!” Will replied. “Just… uh…” He blinked. “Hold tight, we’re coming!” He pushed the antenna down, turning to El. “Can you find him?”

The girl steeled her jaw, and nodded.


	10. Chapter 10

So, the Russians were in charge of Starcourt. Yeah… Will wasn’t expecting that either.

After taking care of El’s wound, they all hauled ass to the mall, getting there just in the nick of time to take care of the commie bastards looking for their friends. El threw a car across the floor effortlessly, which, in Will’s opinion, was honestly kinda hot.

Speaking of El, while the group was having their reunion… she had stumbled off, having some kind of nervous breakdown or episode… at least, that’s what Will _thought_ at first, but then she collapsed, complaining about her leg, and when they all rushed over to check it out…

There was something _crawling_ around inside the wound.

As El lay there, screeching in pain, it became a mad dash to get whatever the _fuck_ the thing was out of El’s body. It honestly hurt Will, being unable to do anything more than hold El’s hand as she cried out in pain.

Jonathan, ever the quick thinker, was the first one to dash across the food court, grabbing things he found lying around to use to get the thing out.

When he came back, Will got behind El, pulling her so she was sitting up slightly. She couldn’t fall asleep during this. He’d seen medical shows, if she fell asleep, it was like playing Russian roulette. No clue if she would wake back up.

El had squirmed and spasmed, screeching in agony, as Jonathan’s fingers rooted around in the wound. Eventually, El had had enough, and told Jonathan to stop, before ripping the alien slug out herself.

Just when it looked like the slug was beginning to scurry away, it was crushed.

All heads turned at the thunderous stomp, and there they were.

Hopper, Joyce… and some third guy Will didn’t recognize.

\-----------

Looking back on it, it was all a massive blur. Will couldn’t tell you exactly when the Spider Monster had shown up, or when they’d started running, all that he knew was that it had happened. Billy had been waiting outside for them and had sabotaged the car, El’s powers were _dead_ , and to make it all worse, it had jumped down into the mall, ready to kill them stone dead.

When he found the guy who thought it was a good idea to let a hostile cosmic entity know of their existence, Will was going to have _words_. At point-blank range. With a twelve-gauge.

He found it fortunate his flight-or-fight instinct was still working after all this time. Cause right now, he needed it.

Long, fleshy tendrils snaked out from the monster’s body, feeling around. Was it blind? That made sense, it didn’t have any eyes.

Will fought back an unpleasant shudder as the tentacles felt around; him, El, and Mike hiding inside the Gap.

He’d seen enough Japanese porn to know where this was going.

Well, in fairness, he didn’t _actually_ think that’s what those tentacles were for, but he had to find some humor in the situation. Otherwise, he’d just break down.

He _hated_ living in this town now. What, with the creatures from other dimensions and all. Dammit, this town was nice and peaceful, and then _those_ people showed up! Now you can’t walk down your own street without Cthulhu’s brother trying to give you a reach-around!

A mannequin slammed into the wall, and the trio silently gasped, as it fell right next to them.

The three went deathly still, trying not to shake in fear, as the tendrils hung in the air near them. Something popped across the way, and the Monster’s attention was drawn elsewhere.

“Let’s go.” Mike silently whispered, taking the lead through a door into the employee tunnels.

Will grasped El’s hand, following Mike’s lead, as he led them out through the loading area. Movement against a fire caught his attention, however.

 _“OH FUCK!”_ Will bellowed, turning around. “Welcome to the neighborhood, see you later!” Keeping El supported, the three ran back into the wall, as Mike hit the button to close the gate.

The sickly grey-green lights of the corridors flickered unsteadily as they tried to move.

“Alright, elevator.” Mike breathed, furiously slamming the button. “Come on, come on…” He muttered, as something banged, grabbing his attention. “Will, stay with her!” He ordered, going to check it out. “Hey-!” Mike yelled, being cut off as something banged into the wall, thunderous footsteps coming down the corridor.

Billy turned the corner, glaring predatorily.

Will launched into action… Unfortunately, it was the wrong one. Billy was a good head taller than him, and built like a linebacker, and Will was effortlessly swatted aside like a bug.

The world rung in his ears, and Will felt like his lungs weren’t working, as he dimly registered El’s terrified scream, and the world went dark.

\---------

He didn’t know how long he’d been out for, only that it was long enough for Billy to vanish… and take El with him.

By the time they got out into the food court where the others were… it was all wrapping up.

All Mike and Will could do was watch as El tried to scramble back, away from the Mind Flayer’s new body, as the inner mouth shot out, on a direct course for her head. Billy was standing over her, staring at it.

And then, he _caught_ it.

The Mind Flayer screeched with rage, sending more tendrils out. It could’ve just used them to kill El, but it _chose_ to attack Billy instead, piercing his flesh and ripping him apart from the inside out.

And then, just when it looked like the Monster’s attention was back on El, it collapsed.

Billy, even if he didn’t know it… had bought them time.

\-----------

The worst part about all the destruction was figuring out what to do afterwards. In Star Wars, after the Death Star was destroyed, there was no long talk about ‘what now’ only a medal ceremony, and roll credits.

The real world was not so lucky. You didn’t get to skip to the end, no matter how much you wanted to.

A team of soldiers, led by Doctor Owens, came in to clean up the remaining Russians, while the kids were tended to by the paramedics.

That hour where Will was waiting for his mother to return was unbearable, made only a little bit better by El sitting next to him. Mike and Lucas were off to the side, quietly murmuring to each other, and sirens rang throughout the place.

When Will’s mom returned, he felt such a deep, intense relief, he couldn’t describe it… but something was wrong, he just couldn’t place it.

And, as he looked at El looking around, confused, and his mother’s teary-eyed, heartbroken look, the pieces clicked in the worst way possible.

El’s anguished cries echoed throughout the parking lot… and Will’s heart breaks. She’s already been through so much, she shouldn’t have to deal with more.

The world could be so unfair to those least deserving of it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the end. I know I said I was planning smut, but that was before I put out 'The Twins.'
> 
> Also, check out the end of the chapter for a preview of another of my upcoming works.

The months after Starcourt weighed heavily on them, as to be expected. El especially. All that time, and her powers still hadn’t come back. She was suffering from nightmares, and to top it all off, shortly after Starcourt they learned they’d be moving.

Leaving Hawkins, taking El with them. Will didn’t know whether to be glad to be getting away from the small town that turned into Hell, or to be sad.

Even the night before the move… he was conflicted.

The summer had started out so nicely… now, the only good part to come out of it was that El was his maybe-girlfriend. He would’ve asked her directly, but…

She had a lot to work through, losing Hopper. He didn’t want to take advantage of that. Will let it be known that he was there, and that was that.

That night, the night before the move, Will lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Most of his room was bare now, everything packed up and ready to go in advance. He didn’t want to go… but he didn’t want to stay, either. All of it was just a reminder of what happened.

Will sighed, rolling over, trying to go to sleep. He’d gone to bed at nine, trying to get an early start on the next day. It was one now.

Will let out a frustrated huff. Only one recourse of action was available to him now. He closed his eyes and let his hand slip down the front of his pants as he grasped, allowing his mind to wander.

He pictured all sorts of girls. Jennifer who had a crush on him he knew, Max (even though she was gone and that was a _slight_ boner-killer), and even that girl Steve worked with, Robin.

But, like he predicted, it came back to El. Always back to her. He didn’t even have to picture her naked or anything, though it would’ve helped, but the image of just her smiling face was enough.

A click and a creaking caught his attention, as Will’s eyes snapped open, and he looked up, hand jerking out of his boxers as he saw the shadowy figure.

“Will?” El quietly called across the way. “Are you awake?”

“Yeah.” He breathlessly replied, hoping against all odds that she’d seen him. “Are you okay?”

“…I can’t sleep.” She quietly admitted. “Don’t want to be alone.”

That was understandable. Moving was scary in on its own, but for someone who’d never known anything else, it had to have been terrifying.

“…Come on.” Will scooted to the side as best he could, allowing her purchase. This wasn’t a normal thing they did. But he could make an exception. His mom would freak if she knew he had a girl in his bed.

Even if it was his… friend-approaching-girlfriend-maybe. He really ought to get this sorted out.

“Thanks…” El murmured, laying across from him on her side.

“You okay?” Will asked.

“…Scared.” El admitted.

“I get it.” Will sympathized, he really did. He hadn’t lived anywhere else but Hawkins, but he had some larger experience of the outside world. El though?

Nothing.

“Don’t worry.” Will told her quietly. “No matter what happens, no matter _what_ , I’ll have your back. And so will my mom, and Jonathan.”

El smiled slightly at that. “Thanks, Will…” Her smile dropped, and her eyebrows furrowed. “There’s… something I need to tell you.”

Will tilted his head. “Tell me what?”

“You remember that night at Enzo’s?” She prompted, causing Will to nod. “You… kissed me.”

“I did.” Will recalled, closing his eyes, ready to feel the sting of rejection. Even though El hadn’t gotten back with Mike, that didn’t automatically mean that she was going to go for Will. It was _possible,_ but not a certainty.

“I just wanna say…” El searched, glancing around. “It felt good.”

Will’s eyes shot open in confusion. “What did?”

“The kiss.” El elaborated clumsily. “I… liked it.”

“Oh…” Will breathed. What had been a quick thing to prevent detection had apparently been pleasurable for her. Granted, it was so for him as well, but at the moment he was more focused on keeping her from getting caught, not his kissing preferences. “I, uh… I liked it too.”

El slowly nodded, looking around, before her eyes flickered down just a tiny amount. And then, she began to scoot closer.

Will felt a chill and then alarm bells as El reached out with her hand, gently stroking the side of his face, before pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. It lasted for about eight seconds, and El closed her eyes, scooting back.

“I…” El stammered quietly. “I liked that one too.” Will wondered momentarily why she would tell him that, before it clicked.

She was test-driving him, almost, deciding whether or not he was something she wanted. And apparently, if the fact that she liked it was any indication, he was.

“You know…” Will muttered. “I just occurred to me I never properly asked you out.”

El tilted her head.

“When we went to the mall,” Will recalled that first ‘date.’ “I never actually asked you out. Just told you to come on.”

El frowned. “So…?”

“So…” Will looked at her. “Would you like to go out with me sometime?”

The corners of El’s mouth tilted up. “Sure… I could use a day out.”

Will chuckled as his words from that day were turned back on him, and with the fear of the coming day alleviated somewhat, they fell asleep.

\-------------

The day came, and the mood was bittersweet. Mike, Lucas, and Dustin helped the Byers with the move, loading stuff onto the moving truck as best they could. Mike was being the leader type, as ever, planning the placement of the stuff inside in the most efficient manner, Dustin was being snarky as usual, and Lucas… Well, he was just trying to get through it.

Max was on the list of the dead.

Will let out a sigh as he walked through the house, carrying a stack of vinyls with a D&D set balanced on the top. He couldn’t blame his mom for wanting to get out. Even if Will himself hadn’t been affected, which of course he had been.

The town just… wasn’t safe anymore.

He sat the vinyls in the donation box and took his D&D set to one of the few remaining boxes he found open, stowing it. He caught sight of his own reflection in the bathroom mirror and stopped.

The summer had changed all of them. Including him. Dustin was the luckiest of them, managing to get out mostly unscathed, but in a close second place was Will. Most of the changes that had affected him at the end of it were positive ones.

He carried himself with more of a… dignity than he used to, he felt. He wasn’t walking around with his chest puffed out, beating down others to make himself feel good, no, he just… respected himself more. Maybe El was partly to blame for it. He wanted to make himself look appealing now, rather than just shrink down out of sight.

Speaking of El… His eyes flickered into the room at the end of the hall. She and Mike were having a moment, it seemed. Not a romantic one, but Mike was crying, and Will found himself feeling sympathy.

Saying goodbye to anyone was a hard thing to do. It wouldn’t be forever, and Will liked to imagine otherwise, but he was no idiot.

Long distance-friendships didn’t last. The Party was different, but there was still that lingering fear. And, in fairness, Mike was doing his damned best to make plans to see the others again. He had already talked to his mom about Thanksgiving, as well as Christmas.

Mike was speaking quietly, low enough so that Will couldn’t hear, and at the end of the conversation it seemed, pulled El into a gentle hug, saying goodbye. The girl closed her eyes, returning it wordlessly for a few moments, before she pulled back.

Will wondered what they had said, but… it wasn’t his place to ask.

\--------------

When the time came around to leave, there were tears falling on all sides. Even the normally unflappable Lucas was crying.

It was clear that none of the people who would be leaving wanted to go, and none of those who were staying wanted them to leave either.

But… it had to be done. The entire place was just… too painful now.

But, it might’ve been more painful watching out the rearview mirrors, seeing the other teenagers standing on the porch, shrinking into the distance.

El and Will were sitting in the back of Jonathan’s car, and swallowed, holding onto each other like the other would blow away.

They closed their eyes, as out of the side window, the leaving Hawkins sign passed them by.

]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing you need to remember about that preview: Godzilla = Will. It makes sense in context.


End file.
